Justin Thomas wins Honda Classic in playoff over Luke List

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The Honda Classic couldn't get the script right. It wasn't decided by a Tiger roar or a grind through the Bear Trap.

Three players emerged from PGA National's wet and wild big three (holes 15, 16, 17), usually the great decider on the Champion Course, still in lockstep in the final round as the shadows lengthened late Sunday afternoon.

Ultimately, it took a playoff to settle the matter after Justin Thomas and Luke List finished 72 holes knotted at 8-under par.

Thomas, the reigning PGA Player of the Year, sank a 6-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole, No. 18, to take the title a year after missing the cut. He punctuated his seventh win in 31 starts on the PGA with an emphatic expletive.

Last year, Thomas missed the cut but drove down from his Jupiter home and waited by the same green to congratulate Rickie Fowler on the victory. This time it was Fowler who missed the cut and was there to return the favor.

Earlier, Thomas and List, in the final pairing, both birdied 18 to eliminate Alex Noren, who was already in the clubhouse at 7-under.

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So they turned on their heels and headed back to the 18th tee to try it again with the sun setting.

List, a Californian seeking his first win on Tour, sent his drive into trees to the right of the fairway and put his second shot into spectators to the left of the green, coming to rest a foot from the wall of the viewing stands.

He made a nice recovery after a relief drop. But List's adventure opened the door for Thomas, who put his second shot on the green to set up a routine birdie.

Thomas, whose win in the PGA Championship highlighted a breakout season in 2017, showed his pedigree on the final hole in regulation with a clutch approach from 115 yards to within three feet of the pin on his third shot.